El Paso City Council to revisit gay benefits issue (4:10 a.m.)

The El Paso City Council on Tuesday will hold a public hearing on a measure that would reverse an initiative passed by voters in November.

The council is considering an ordinance that would restore health benefits to 19 gay and unmarried partners of city employees. It also would restore benefits to more than 100 others who lost them because of the way the initiative was worded.

Organizers of the November ballot initiative, which passed by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent, said they only intended to end benefits for gay and unmarried partners because they believed the benefits encouraged immoral behavior. Now they're outraged that Mayor John Cook would propose an ordinance that would challenge the voter-approved initiative.

Cook has said he will try to persuade the public that providing the benefits is the right thing to do. Part of his argument is that hundreds of governmental units provide similar benefits to employees, as do many private businesses.

It is unclear whether the measure will pass when it comes to a vote by the City Council. City Reps. Susie Byrd and Steve Ortega have expressed support for Cook's move. City Rep. Eddie Holguin said he would not go against the voters even though he disagreed with them on the matter, and city Rep. Ann Morgan Lilly said she was inclined to oppose the measure as well. City Rep. Rachel Quintana was noncommittal.

The public hearing will take place sometime after 11 a.m. Tuesday in council chambers, second floor,